2025 Coach Of The Year Finalists

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em><strong><em><strong><em><strong>Get 25% off your subscription by entering Knight25 in the coupon code area. Enjoy!</strong></em></strong></em></strong></em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 2025 football season has come to an end and the calendar has officially flipped to 2026. Throughout the month of January, we'll be putting the spotlight on some of the top individuals from the 2025 football season. From All State Teams to our Player Of The Year award and much more! In today's post, we're putting that spotlight on the coaches with our five finalists for the 2025 Coach Of The Year award. Keep it locked in to Prep Redzone Oklahoma for more individual spotlights. And be sure to check out our&nbsp;<strong><a href="https://www.youtube.com/@PrepRedzoneOklahoma">PRZ-Oklahoma YouTube Channel</a></strong>&nbsp;for exclusive (and free) video content recapping the 2025 football season! Here are this year's five finalists!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>Bobby Klinck - Sand Springs</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sand Springs head coach Bobby Klinck has had the Sandites knocking on the door of 6A-2 supremacy for the last several years but this year, they kicked the door down. The Sandites went 11-2, capturing their first state championship in nearly six decades. They beat defending champion Choctaw 32-27 in the state title game. Klinck has won a state championship as a player, assistant coach and now as a head coach. One of the biggest moments of their season came in the semifinals, when Klinck rolled the dice following a touchdown and went for the two-point conversion instead of playing for overtime. With less than a minute to play, the Sandites converted and they punched their ticket to the state championship game. The Sandites are the fourth different team to win the 6A-2 title in the last four years. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>Jerry Ricke - Lincoln Christian</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Lincoln Christian head coach Jerry Ricke helped guide the Bulldogs to their third consecutive state championship and the third straight season with a 14-0 record. They'll take a 42-game winning streak into the 2026 football season and there's no doubt that Ricke has molded this Lincoln Christian program into one of the best in the state, regardless of class. Lincoln Christian went 14-0 this season behind an explosive offense and a relentless defense. They matched up with Sulphur in the state title game for the second straight season and prevailed 24-21. This was Ricke's ninth season as head coach of the Bulldogs. In his first season in 2017, Lincoln Christian went 5-7. In the last eight seasons, Lincoln has a combined record of 103-6 and have won four state championships and have been to the title game six times in the last seven years. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>Kelly Gravitt - Talihina</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Talihina football has been one of the best stories in Oklahoma high school football over the last two seasons. In 2022, because of severely low numbers, the Golden Tigers had to forfeit their entire season. That could be a death sentence to programs but Talihina came back in 2023 and in 2024, they played for the state championship. In 2025, they won the whole thing. Head coach Kelly Gravitt has been with this program for two decades and he was determined to bring them back when they had to forfeit the season in 2022. They knocked on the door in 2024 with the runner up finish. And anyone who saw that team, saw a team that had everybody back in 2025 and the Golden Tigers went wire to wire as Class A-2's top team. The Disney-like story ended with a 26-20 win over Hominy to cap off an undefeated season. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>Loren Montgomery - Bixby</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>You can put Bixby head coach Loren Montgomery on this list almost every single year. But this year saw the Spartans accomplish some more history and receive even more recognition. The Spartans went 13-0, winning their eighth consecutive state championship, with the last four coming in 6A-1. The eight straight championships is a new state record for football, including 8-man. They also played in their 12th consecutive state title game, dating back to 2014, when that streak started. But the recognition came from a national perspective. Being nationally ranked wasn't something new for Bixby football but in one national poll, the Spartans climbed all the way to number one halfway through the regular season and they stayed there for the rest of the year. Montgomery has Bixby as one of the marquee programs in the country.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>Mike Dunn - Carl Albert</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>After losing four players to P4 programs and the school's all time leading tackler, Carl Albert just reloaded and head coach Mike Dunn helped guide the Titans to their fourth consecutive state title. When they raised the gold ball in December, it was the 20th time in program history that Carl Albert has accomplished that. In 2024, they tied Ada for the most state championships in state history with 19 and it took them 365 days to break that tie and become the first program in state history to reach 20 state championships. As if that wasn't enough history for Carl Albert, Dunn's Titans will go into the 2026 football season with a 53-game winning streak. They'll be in a position to break Bixby's 11-man winning streak record halfway through the regular season. In addition to it's fourth straight title, it was the ninth in the last ten years. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->